Presentation at the Fall FFI Conference, Oct 19, 2010.

1. Northeast Iowa Food & Fitness Initiative
Fall Conference, October 2010

2. Presenters:
Teresa Wiemerslage, ISU Extension
Jon Jensen, Luther College
Wayne Tudor, Sodexo
Johnice Cross, Coordinator, GROWN Locally
Ryan Jepsen, Grass Run Farm

3. Jon Jensen
Director of Environmental Studies

4. Decision to use Sodexo
• June 2009
• Impact on local producers
• Producer meetings
• wayne.tudor@sodexo.com

5. Ryan Jepsen
www.grassrunfarm.com

6. Johnice Cross, Coordinator
www.grownlocally.com

7. GROWN Locally's Story
Aggregate product from 17 farms
Initial assessment with EcoSure
Improvement Needed
Pest Control
Approved ceiling
Truck

13. Best Practices & Recommendations
Work with other growers to spread risk and cost
Liability Insurance
Annual audit costs
Distribution efficiencies
Product volume
Develop a Farm Safety Plan
Work with payment terms. 30-60 days is too long.
Remember the system we are working in
Focus on your priorities and keep your vision up front
Open Discussion

14. Challenges for Sodexo
Local food costs more
Provides budget challenges for sustainability goals
Scaling up supply takes time
Changed cooking methods to accommodate local food
No canned fruits/vegetables
10% frozen
Will source fresh foods from distributor in off season
Chicken fried steak
Make own marinara and pizza sauce
Requires more labor and more training

15. Impact of Approval for Producers
 Increased sales to Luther College
 Luther reports 20% local food purchases in Sept 2010
 Increased number of broker producers
 Looking for more egg producers
 Increased calls from other Sodexo accounts
 Increased calls from purveyors and produce houses
 Looking at distribution efficiencies
Since then:
 Most GROWN Locally growers have become USDA GAP
certified.
 They have implemented an internal audit system.